Lights, as in bulbs, the electronics variety. It is becoming increasingly clear that Cortana is more than just a service. It is destined to become a platform, something which Microsoft will build around.

The digital voice assistant has opened up a world of opportunities not just for Redmond, but developers and companies across the globe. And these innovations are amazing when you consider that the stable version of the service is yet to arrive.

But that is not stopping companies from pronouncing support for Cortana.

Home automation leader, Insteon, has earlier today announced that its mobile apps will soon include support for Cortana on Windows Phone 8.1 — and with it, Windows 9 too, as Cortana on the desktop platform is a certain possibility.

What this means is that you will soon be able to turn the lights in your room on or off, or control home electronics simply by speaking to your phone. It also means that Siri (on iOS) will no longer be the only personal digital assistant that can do these simple jobs for you.

In fact, a video released in early May perfectly illustrated these possibilities of how Cortana could be used for home automation.

A standalone Windows 8.1 app has been available for a while now, however, the California based company has not exactly confirmed when the Cortana powered voice controls will rollout, other than a promise within the next few months.

But with more than 200 smart home devices from Insteon already on the market, this integration cannot come soon enough, that’s for sure.